You may have heard of Navantia Seanergies, a subsidiary of Navantia that develops and builds technology in renewable energy fields. But have you heard that we’ve been working to grow the Australian renewables industry, specifically offshore wind?
To date, Navantia Seanergies has completed professional design reviews, procurement, and the construction behind eleven large-scale offshore wind projects across five European countries, with the scope including substations (topsides and foundations), monopiles, jackets, and floating semi-submersible platforms. Navantia Seanergies isn’t just offshore wind power, we’ve also invested in the research and development of hydrogen electrolysers and propulsion for fuel cells, eco-fuels, and engines. But what could that look like for us? That’s where Navantia Australia’s Seanergies Project Manager, Genevieve Bowen, comes in.
A Mechanical Engineer with a background in ocean engineering prior, Gen is working alongside Navantia Seanergies in Spain to understand how the program could operate within the unique Australian market. There are currently no offshore wind farms constructed in the country, however there are many early developments at a desktop evaluation stage, with geotechnical work to commence this year. The federal government recently formally declared the region offshore Gippsland as an “offshore wind zone” with early feasibility license applications open to developers for land exclusivity until late April 2023. The Victorian government has set a target of 2 Gigawatts of generation by 2032 in line with planned coal plant closures, with NSW expected to follow shortly. Not only that, but Australia is also seeing a high level of interest and government investment in the development of hydrogen technologies.
Gen has begun engaging in local industry and port assessments, identifying local capability gaps, and is managing the transfer of industry knowledge from the Spanish Seanergies program to Navantia Australia. As we progress our market studies for how a Navantia Seanergies program will operate in Australia, we are expecting to see a large local footprint that is key to developing Australia’s offshore wind industry. We’re excited to be growing this area of the business and looking into diversifying local operations. We will keep you all updated as we learn more about what the Australian Seanergies program will look like.